The post-Nash era has not been kind to the Suns, who are on pace for their worst season since winning 28 games in 1987-88. And that’s after winning two straight under new head coach Lindsey Hunter, who took over after Alvin Gentry was sacked for not squeezing enough blood from the rock that is Phoenix’s barren roster.

Owner Robert Sarver was heavily criticized for that decision, marking another schism with a fan base whose patience has dwindled along with the team’s declining fortunes.

Goran Dragic (14.2 ppg, 6.2 apg) and Luis Scola (13.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg) have enjoyed solid seasons. Otherwise, the Suns are comprised largely by role players. That’s been born out in the standings and on the stat sheet, where they rank among the least effective teams on both ends of the court.

With their poor record on the road and against the Spurs in recent seasons (1-7 since a 4-0 victory in the 2010 playoffs), the Suns’ prospects for tonight’s game don’t look good.

Injury report

C Channing Frye (shoulder, heart), out

What to watch

* The Spurs will forever remember Dragic for his explosion in Game 3 of their 2010 playoff series, a sweep that had appeared to end their days as a contender. While hardly a superstar, Dragic has been good in his first season as a regular starter. He’s coming off perhaps his best game of the year, 24 points and eight assists against the Clippers.

* The Suns are hampered by a huge disparity at the 3-point line, ranking next-to-last in shooting (33.1 percent) and last in defense (38.8 percent). They at least don’t give up many attempts – 16.4 per game, second-fewest in the NBA. But that could be difficult against an aggressive Spurs team that gets up nearly 23 3s per game at a 38.1-percent clip.

* Phoenix is also terrible on the boards, grabbing just 48.1 percent of available rebounds to rank 26th. As such, offensive rebounding shouldn’t be a factor against the Spurs, who have shaken off some early issues to steadily climb their way up to No. 2 on the defensive boards.